This invention relates to a yarn package holder for textile machines having a creel to support and hold cylindrical and conical tubes upon which the yarn is wound to form a yarn package, and from which the yarn is withdrawn during operation of the machine.
In order to accommodate yarn package tubes having various diameters, holders have been provided having arms or legs which are biased radially outwardly to engage the inner surface of the hollow tube upon which the yarn is wrapped. The biasing force is obtained either by the inherent resiliency of the material from which the arms or legs are made, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,283,373, dated May 19, 1942, or by a spring engaging the arm for biasing the arm radially outwardly as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,728,055, dated Mar. 1, 1988, and 4,760,977, dated Aug. 2, 1988.
While these holders facilitate the installation and removal of the package on the creel with one hand, they have been characterized by certain disadvantages; particularly, the necessity of forcing the arms or legs of the holder against the inside surface of the cone or tube. Most cones or tubes used in the textile industry are made of paper or plastic, and when forced over such holders, the pressure against the inside surface of the cone or tube is so great that it causes damage to the tube or cone. The smaller the size of the tube or cone that is placed over such holders, the greater the pressure against the radially outwardly biased arms or legs of the holder consequently, it has heretofore been impossible to provide a holder which fits all commonly used sizes of yarn packages. If the holder was made large enough to hold large yarn packages, it would be impractical to hold small packages, because the radially outwardly biased arms or legs would subject the small tube or cone to excessive internal pressure resulting in the tube or cone being torn or worn. This is particularly so when the textile machinery is being operated in an atmosphere of very high humidity which is often the case, since some yarns are stronger when wet.
In order to accommodate the holder to both small and large yarn packages, it has been proposed to provide the holder with a plurality of arms of various sizes to accommodate the respective large and small yarn packages, as disclosed in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,760,977, or to provide the base support arm of the holder with a detachable spacer bar, as disclosed in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,728,055. Neither proposal has proven satisfactory because the plurality of variously-sized arms do not provide uniform internal pressure for all sizes of yarn packages, and the detachable spacer bar resulted in an increase of time and expense to handle the installation of the spacer bar to accommodate larger packages, and the removal of the spacer bar to accommodate smaller packages.
After considerable research and experimentation, the yarn package holder of the present invention has been devised for accommodating all sizes of yarn package tubes or cones and providing uniform holding pressure, to thereby prevent damage to the internal surface of the tubes or cones by excess internal pressure.
The yarn package holder of the present invention comprises, essentially, a contact arm or rod connected in a cantilevered manner to a base support which is operatively connected to a creel. The contact arm engages the inside surface of the yarn package tube or cone, and one end of a spring member is pivotally connected to the distal end portion of the contact arm and extends therefrom in a direction toward the proximate end of the contact arm. A second spring member has one end fixedly secured to the proximate end portion of the contact arm and extends therefrom in a direction toward the distal end of the contact arm. The end portion of the second spring member engages the first spring member and biases it radially outwardly, whereby tubes and cones of various sizes can be mounted on the contact arm.
The spring members may consist of steel, wood or plastic leaf springs, or steel wire springs.